Phoenix Open Recap: Fowler Wins Despite Late Struggles

Three years ago, Rickie Fowler came to the Waste Management Phoenix Open with his career arrow pointing straight up. He exited in tears.

On Sunday, it almost happened again.

Fowler kicked away a five-stroke lead on the back nine but recovered for a whiplash-like two-shot win over Branden Grace at rainy TPC Scottsdale. He took a bizarre triple-bogey on No. 11, after a double-bogey earlier in the round, but somehow survived with a 3-over-74 round to finally close the deal at his personal house of horrors. Fowler became the first golfer since 1983 to shoot a double and a triple in the final round of a PGA Tour event and still win.

At the 2016 WMPO, Fowler was this close to a fifth worldwide win in ninth months, seemingly on a path of finally becoming the golfer so many had expected him to become.

Instead, Fowler blew a two-stroke lead with two holes to play. What made the loss especially painful was that he was trying to win for the first time with his father and grandfather in attendance. It was Yutaka Tanaka, "Grandpa," who had introduced three-year-old Rickie to the game of golf.

Fowler had never really recovered from that fateful day in the desert, even though he had a chance a year ago at the WMPO. He again held a 54-hole lead but couldn't even finish in the top-10. Fowler had won only once more in those three years, had fallen from a career-best fourth in the world rankings to 14th and, of course, still owns the dreaded title of Best Golfer Never to Have Won a Major.

In securing his fifth PGA Tour win on Sunday, however, Fowler showed more inner fortitude than ever before.

This wasn't the most elite of fields. Grace, ranked outside the top-50 entering the week, came from seven shots off the pace to take the lead, only to find water on No. 17. No one else really challenged. Fowler played alongside the top player entered, Justin Thomas, for the final 36 holes. But Thomas could not lay a glove on his good friend and, for tournament week, housemate. Thomas is one of the Americans who came on the scene after Fowler but who has surpassed him. Jordan Spieth is another, as is arguably Patrick Reed. You could even say that the much younger Xander Schauffele has overtaken him with more big-time victories, albeit none a major.

To refresh on where Fowler was when he arrived in Arizona three years ago: He finished in the top-five in all four majors in 2014, two of them runners-up, then won three prestigious titles in 2015 – The Players Championship, the Scottish Open and the Deutsche Bank in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He opened 2016 by besting a stellar field in Abu Dhabi to move to No. 4 in the world. Two weeks later, it all came to a crashing halt. He welled up during a post-tournament news conference, which he had to cut short, crushed that he could not seal the deal in front of his family.

This time around, his dad and grandfather were back, along with virtually his entire family, plus his fiancée. Who knows what another choke-a-thon would've resulted in?

Thankfully for Fowler, we'll never know. Instead, the talk of finally winning a major gains renewed traction. Only now, as of December, Fowler is on the other side of 30.

Can he do it? Of course. He's No. 8 in the world. More importantly, he was knocked down with a hard right to the jaw on Sunday, the count was nearing 10, and yet he was able to get back on his feet, recover and win.

Really, it's the most mettle Fowler has ever shown on a golf course. And you need plenty of mettle to win a major.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Branden Grace
The past eight months had not been kind to the former No. 10-ranked golfer. He had only one top-10, and that came in a weak field in his native South Africa. He slipped out of the top-50 in the world. With Sunday's runner-up, he's back up to No. 40, and that will get him into the WGC-Mexico. And coming from seven strokes back to do it was quite an accomplishment. So that's all good. But let's not forget that Grace held a two-stroke lead when he came to the 17th tee and promptly sent his tee ball into the water. Inexcusable.

Justin Thomas
Solo third can hardly be considered a bad week. But it's interesting to note than last year at this time, Thomas already had two wins. And two years ago, he already had three. In other words, Thomas does most of his damage at the beginning of a season. He goes again for that first win of 2018-19 in two weeks at Riviera.

Chez Reavie
Reavie shot one of the best rounds of the day on Sunday, a 68, to vault into a tie for fourth. He already has three top-10s this season, and is 8-for-8 in cuts. It's quite a career renaissance for the 37-year-old, one that began last year. He's well suited for Pebble, where he'll tee it up again this week. Reavie moved into the top-50 in the world, at No. 49, and if he can hang on one more week, he'll qualify for the WGC-Mexico in two weeks.

Sungjae Im
Im shot four rounds in the 60s to tie for seventh, giving him a second top-10 and a fifth top-25 already this season. But he is playing A LOT. Im is only 20 years old. So he's got some big-time stamina. But Phoenix was his fourth straight week of action and he also is in the field this week at Pebble Beach. He might do well yet again. But we're curious how Im will look later in the season, come July and August. For now, though, the rookie is up to No. 82 in the world.

Hideki Matsuyama
It was a perfect storm, Matsuyama finishing third at the Desert Classic one week before returning to Phoenix. So he became a very popular play, given that he'd had two wins, a second and a fourth in the past five years at the WMPO. And even though Matsuyama only tied for 15th, it was a pretty good week. He was one of just three golfers to shoot all four rounds in the 60s (Grace and Im). But Matsuyama is not back at the top-five level he was at two years ago. The jury is still out on whether he gets back there.

Kevin Kisner
Following a poor 2018, Kisner hasn't opened 2019 any better. He's made all three cuts, but none has been so much as a top-25. The best of the bunch was Sunday's tie for 26th, though that didn't stop Kisner's slide down the world rankings. He's now 46th and likely will hang on to end next week in the top-50, thereby getting him into the WGC-Mexico field. Even still, Kisner has been falling for some time now. We'll see him this week at Pebble.

Austin Cook
Cook shot 9-over to miss the cut by a mile. But let's keep in mind he hadn't played since November. Even Tiger Woods' winter break wasn't that long. There has been no report of an injury for Cook, but he did become a new dad last month, so that's probably the reason for the long break. Cook looked pretty good during the fall, with a pair of top-15s, so don't let Phoenix carry too much weight. He's back at it this week at Pebble, and we expect a better result.

Joaquin Niemann
The young Chilean burst onto the Tour in the middle of the season and earned his card as a nonmember. This season, Niemann has not been the same golfer. He missed the cut on Friday, and now dating back to the fall season, his past five finishes have been MC-72-MC-65-60. Niemann recently turned 20. Very often, young golfers who make a big splash in their first season take a step or two back in their second. That might be what is going on here.

Dustin Johnson
Johnson was in the tournament in Saudi Arabia. He opened the season fourth in the Sentry, 16th in Abu Dhabi and now a victory. Johnson is no longer No. 1 in the world; he's not even No. 2. And he's still stuck on one major. But when the question of who the best golfer in the world is, his name comes up more than anyone else's. Johnson is a two-time Pebble winner and has four other top-fives the past five years. Even with a long trek back from the Middle East, he should be right there on Sunday, as usual.

Ian Poulter
After playing so-so in the Hawaiian Swing, the Englishman went to the Middle East and finished top-six three weeks running, culminating with a T6 behind Johnson. It's barely budged him in the world rankings – Poulter sits 35th – but it's encouraging to see him play so well right outside of a Ryder Cup year.